


Maybe We Could Be

by SproutMonster



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bow is a Personal Trainer, Catra and Adora are Farmhands You're Welcome, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Found Families, Glimmer is a Freelancer, Kinda, Madame Razz: Foster Mom Extraordinaire, Mutual Pining, Shadow Weaver is the Worst, oh my god they were roommates, unwanted neighbors really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-04-23 19:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19157797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SproutMonster/pseuds/SproutMonster
Summary: Bow and Glimmer did not want new neighbors, but if they had to have them they might as well try and be friendly. Catra and Adora though (foster kids that are still coming to terms with their co-dependency issues) have little interest in building bridges. At first. They might be willing to try. Catra has Scorpia, after all... doesn't Adora deserve somebody too?





	1. Chapter 1

Glimmer was sadly, entirely used to her overprotective mother stopping by the duplex without warning. While Glimmer couldn’t call the visits unfair, because Angella was their landlord, she certainly wouldn’t consider them wanted. Angella was a helicopter parent and the originating source of Glimmer's own stubbornness, infamous as it was within her (smaller than many would suspect) circle of friends. No matter how much Glimmer huffed and grumbled Angella could usually be relied upon to stop by with coffee and breakfast pastries for her daughter and her daughter's roommate, Bow, every weekend. Bow, the traitor, had the nerve to look forward to the visits and was usually up to greet Angella at the door with his blinding, cotton candy smile.

What Glimmer was decidedly not used to was the sound of a moving truck screeching to a halt on squeaky brakes right outside her window, loud enough to yeet her from deep within the velvet confines of REM sleep, at 6 AM on a Sunday.

She groaned with the tired fury of the undead as she rolled free from her memory foam throne, dragging her purple-pink comforter with her. She fell to the floor with a thump, and if not for the shag carpet her bum probably would have been on it’s way to bruising. Not that she had the bandwidth in that moment to register the pain; what little brain power she had available to her then was focused on getting revenge for her stolen sleep. Judging by the time flashing from the home screen of her phone when she grabbed for it (as most millenials did first thing in the morning) she had just missed out on what could have been another three hours of blissful, uninterrupted slumber. Someone was going to be made to pay for lost time.

Glimmer wrapped the comforter tighter around her shoulders. The downy softness would be her cape, her badge of office when she confronted the offender. It was also freezing in her room and she didn’t have time to change. 

She wandered from her room like a drowsy bumblebee lilting through the sky, intent on finding Bow. There was strength in numbers. If they were going to intimidate the offender, better to do it as a united front. 

“Bow…” she called out, eyelids heavy and voice rusty. She needed liquid. Water or coffee? Both. Hopefully Bow had brewed a fresh pot. 

“In here, Glim.” 

Glimmer followed the sound of her best friend’s voice. He was there in the kitchen, midriff exposed as it nearly always was (Bow owned a lot of sweatpants and crop tops and very little else), wearing the fuzzy heart-print socks she’d gotten him for Christmas. He was busy at the coffee pot, two mugs on the counter before him with gentle wisps of steam curling from within them. Beside them was an assortment of cinnamon, sugar, milk, and cream. Bow liked his coffee sweet, Glimmer liked hers with kick. They were both fussy when it came to their coffee and a bulk of their early days as roommates had involved getting to know the in’s and out’s of morning and nighttime routines. As active as Bow was in the morning, Glimmer was at night, and vice versa. Glimmer had never completely abandoned her theory that Bow was some sort of sun-gifted fae child, rising with his solar parent and failing fast once her light had gone for that cycle. How else could he be so chipper? And why else would he require so much night coffee to stay awake for outings that barely stretched past nine o’clock at night?

“For you, your majesty.” 

“You’re the best, Bow.” Bow smiled as she took the proffered mug. When she made contact with the warmth of the ceramic she could feel the valve holding back the steam of her irritation turning just a bit, the slightest bit of pressure easing off. More was released when she took her first sip of coffee, and she almost could have forgotten that she was mad. 

“So how ‘bout those brakes?” Bow asked, the false ease in the smirk on his face betrayed by the wariness in his eyes.

Almost. 

“Don’t remind me. The moment this coffee is finished we are confronting the monsters driving that junk heap down our street at the ass crack of dawn.”

“Glimmer! Language.”

“Sorry.”

Bow could only tut before he grabbed his own mug. He went to the window and pulled back the curtains (a handmade gift from their friend Perfuma, decorated with entirely too many knitted flowers) to peek outside. He let out a brief whistle. “Yeah, that’s a clunker alright.” 

“They’re out front?” Glimmer asked. She held her coffee in one hand and tried to rub the sleep from her droopy eyes with the other. Her eyelids could have each weighed fifty pounds with the way they kept trying to slip shut. 

“Yeah…” Bow answered, his voice unsteady. Suspicious. Like he was suddenly very worried about something but didn’t want to tell her because he knew it was going to make her even angrier. “You’re not gonna like this. It’s a moving truck.” He turned away from the window, the look in his eyes frantic. “And it’s parked right in front of our place.”

Glimmer’s first thought was, _She wouldn’t have. She promised she wouldn’t._ “No.” Her voice trembled with both anger and fear.

“Yes.”

Glimmer set her mug down on their kitchen counter with more force than was probably reasonable, but thankfully no coffee sloshed over the rim. One thing Bow wouldn’t have to clean up. Her boots were still by their back door, the one that led straight out of the kitchen and out onto the deck. She pulled them on and was stepping out into the chilly, foggy morning before Bow had finished his eye roll and exasperated sigh. ‘Glimmer, wait!’ she heard him call, but she was on a mission. From the deck she began to descend the wooden stairs leading down to the ground two at a time, hiking up her comforter so she could remain bundled in it’s warmth without tripping over it. 

Her boots barely touched grass before she was stunned into stillness. Her mouth dropped open, lips parted into a surprised little ‘o.’ Glimmer had never seen a magicat before. Not in person, anyway. What with her mother being on the Council, Glimmer’s upbringing involved basic education on all the major branches of magical families in Etheria, so she knew of magicats. Actually knowing one was very, very different. They were scarce, and secretive, and rarely made connections outside of their own kind. 

The warmth of Bow’s body heat appeared behind her, and Glimmer turned to meet his gaze. 

“Do you see her too?” Glimmer asked. Part of her was hoping this was all just a very realistic dream. Maybe she was actually still sleeping.

“Yeah,” Bow replied, crushing Glimmer’s fragile hopes. “She looks… mean.”

Glimmer couldn’t exactly disagree.

The magicat, twitchy as she was, seemed to be even less of a morning person than Glimmer. She had a great, thick mane of dark brown hair with lighter tufts protecting her tall ears, and the sleeker fur covering the rest of her lean frame was a sandier color. She had tawny, stripe-like markings on her biceps and forearms. She was also packed tight with wiry muscle, and definitely wearing less clothing than she should have been. Her leggings had holes in them, her form-fitting shirt barely had sleeves, and her feet were… bare? 

She was also very openly scratching an itch on her rear, with no apparent concern that people could be watching. A long tail swished back and forth, twitching in the morning gloom.

“What do we do?” Bow asked, head hovering over Glimmer’s right shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard magicats bite.”

“We make sure that my mother didn’t go back on her promise, and we help this magicat with the desperately-in-need-of-an-oil-change truck find the right address. Because she’s _clearly_ lost.” Glimmer knows she sounds a lot more confident than she actually is. She’d perfected the art of the bluff when she was younger and had to lie through her teeth to her very intimidating mother about where she’d been all night. And with her bluff voiced, Glimmer gathered herself and marched on. Part of the selling the bluff relied on the follow through, after all.  
The magicat sensed their approach, which was unsurprising but still unsettling, and turned to meet their advance with shoulders squared and eyes narrowed. Eyes that were, upon closer inspection, mismatched. One eye was a bright, sunflower yellow, practically glowing in the fog. The other was a brilliant blue. Both were glowering at the approaching pair, dark circles of sleeplessness only enhancing the irritation.

"Can we help you?" Glimmer snapped, still bundled up in her comforter.

The magicat had the nerve to hiss at her, mismatched eyes (beautiful eyes, really, Glimmer wasn't blind) narrowed in distaste. The magicat looked envious of Glimmer’s thick comforter. Judging from her lack of winter-appropriate clothing, Gimmer guessed that she must have been cold.

"You can start by backing up.” The magicat said. Her voice was raspy, but feminine. “Fair warning, I'm not a morning person."

"What, and you think I am? You're the one that woke us up with your stupid truck."

"Not my problem. Not sorry about it." Glimmer blinked, outraged. The nerve of this cat! She glanced up at Bow, looking for support, but he only shrugged. He had never been good with what he called, ‘negative’ people.

Groaning, Glimmer let her eyes fall shut. When she spoke again, her voice betrayed her fatigue. “Look, just tell us where you’re trying to go. If your GPS isn’t working we can look up where you’re going and tell you how to get there.” _Because I know you’re not staying here. Mom would never. At least, I hope she wouldn’t._

The magicat finally looked something other than annoyed: confused. “Isn’t this Bright Moon Court?”

A chill went down both Glimmer and Bow’s spines. _Oh no._

“Glimmer-” 

“I heard her, Bow.” Glimmer sighed, dropping her head into her waiting hand, arms crossed over her torso. Angella and she were going to be having words. 

The magicat broke the final straw when she started to laugh. The expression on her face couldn’t have been read as anything other than sheer disbelief. “Your name is _Glimmer?_ Oh, that is rich. Adora and I are definitely in Disneyland now.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Glimmer growled, raising her head to glare at their unwelcome visitor. 

"Speaking of Adora..." the magicat said, trailing off with a dramatic sigh, though the laughing smirk remained lying in wait. "She's better with people than I am. She can deal with you. I'm going back to my truck. Hopefully the warmth hasn’t leaked out of her yet." The magicat made a show of dragging her mismatched eyes over the both of them, a long, uncomfortable once-over that was absolutely meant to be a show of dominance. Neither Glimmer nor Bow missed it when the magicat flexed her long fingers and curved, black claws came free. Glimmer heard Bow gulp. Glimmer only narrowed her eyes, gray with a lavender shine she owed to her magical heritage. The magicat grinned and turned away. “Later, _Glitter._ ” 

“It’s Glimmer.” The magicat ignored her and sauntered back to the driver’s side of the beat up red pickup truck that had been parked behind the moving truck.Tall ears twitched as she opened the door and slid inside, pulling the door shut behind her with enough force to rattle the car’s frame. "Can you believe the nerve of that cat?" Glimmer grumbled, burrowing into Bow's side for warmth. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and together they headed for the back of the moving truck. They could hear someone, presumably Adora (who hopefully was not another fussy magicat), messing around.

“She certainly was something.” Bow said.

“Can you believe the nerve of my mom? I mean, how could she? She promised she wouldn’t do this. Not without at least a heads-up.” 

But Bow had no answer. "Excuse me?" he called out, being the first to peek his head around the corner of the rental. Glimmer, short stack that she was, took a little bit longer to lean around and get an eyeful.

_Holy shoulders._

The girl checking over the mismatched bits of furniture in the bed of the truck was tall. And broad. Taller and broader than Bow. She had a head of blonde hair buzzed short at the sides and long at the crown, pulled into a tail that reached between her angular shoulder blades. Shoulder blades that were practically traceable through the thin material of the thermal workout shirt the blonde was wearing. Glimmer's poor heart danced on the edges of panic mode.

Then the girl turned around. And Glimmer was doomed.

"Oh! Hi, hang on, I- sorry," the blonde jumped down from the truck, landing on steady feet adorned with old, old, heavy workboots. Workboots caked with mud. Her jeans were equally dirty, tucked into said boots with care. They looked to be about two sizes too big for her, and were held up by a thick leather belt. But Glimmer was too distracted by the girl's face to notice any of that. Her eyes were a pale blue, practically grey in the cool morning fog. Her smile was nervous, like she was trying to force it but hadn't fully committed. "Hi," she said again.

"Hi," Bow shot back, his smile genuine. "My name is Bow. This is Glimmer," he said as he pushed Glimmer forward a bit. There was a gleam in his eye that Glimmer didn't like. She could worry about him later though, because right now she had a pretty girl to avoid looking ridiculous in front of.

"Hello," Glimmer said, proud when her voice didn't crack. "You must be Adora?"

The blonde nodded, but she looked surprised. "How'd you know?" Before either Glimmer or Bow could answer Adora brought a hand to her temple and groaned. "Let me guess: Catra? Grumpy magicat with heterochromia?"

So. Catra was her enemy's name. Glimmer stored that information away for later. "You got it. She told us to talk to you. Said something about going to take a nap in her truck."

Adora frowned. "She better not be. She knows she’s supposed to be helping."

“About that…” Glimmer began. She wished they hadn’t left the magicat behind. It would have been much easier to accuse the magicat. How was Glimmer supposed to argue with someone this hot? She let out a nervous laugh, folding her hands behind her back. “What exactly are you ladies doing out here at _six_ in the morning?” Judging by the way Adora’s blonde brows rose about a centimeter, Glimmer’s fatigue wasn’t entirely done making itself known. She had come across annoyed. She could tell.

“Uh… our landlady told us to meet her here. To sign paperwork. And, well, move in. We live here now. Or, at least, we will when the paperwork is signed.” Adora cocked her head, blonde ponytail falling to the side like a curtain of pale spun gold. Her eyes narrowed. “You… actually look a lot like her. That’s weird.”

_No, it isn’t. What’s WEIRD is that my mother promised me she wouldn’t rent out the vacant half of our duplex without letting us approve the potential tenants. And yet, here you two are! At six AM on a Sunday!_

Glimmer was steamed. Absolutely steamed. But she wasn’t quite at the bursting threshold, not yet. “Your landlady. Hm. That’s interesting. And who would that be? This is a private drive, after all. None of these houses should be on the market.”

Glimmer ignored Bow pushing at her shoulder, whispering in her ear that she was being rude and sending Adora apologetic glances. Adora, for her part, didn’t seem to realize that she was lingering at the edge of a cliff. She made a confused (cute) noise and dug around in the front pocket of her jeans. She pulled out a caseless smart phone that was definitely a few generations old and began prodding at the surface. “Hang on, I’ve got her information here. We didn’t really set this up, our- hey!”

“Glimmer!” Bow shouted.

Glimmer had snatched Adora’s phone right out of her hands. As she gazed down at the screen, barely noting the crack in the top left corner, her simmering anger reached a boiling point. 'Angella Lunsk' stared back at her, hovering above her mother’s phone number. 

“No,” she said. “No, no, no. No!” The volume of her voice only grew with each syllable that flew past her lips. “This isn’t right. You shouldn’t be here! Neither of you should be here!”

Adora was mirroring her anger now, her earlier nervousness and patience run out. Now she stood at her full height, shoulders squared. Her eyes were narrowed in a brilliant blue glare. “What is your problem?”

“My problem is you! And your nasty magicat friend back there. You two are trespassing and you need to leave.” _Before my mother shows up, so I have a chance to talk her out of this._ Adora’s abrupt turn towards combativeness shelved Glimmer’s attraction, and now the two were well on their way to an all out shouting match.

“How are we trespassing if we live here?” Adora demanded.  
“You said it yourself,” Glimmer shot back. “You don’t officially live here until you’ve signed the paperwork. Do you see paperwork? Because I don’t!”  
“When our landlady gets here, we will sign it. And you don’t get a say in that!”  
“That’s where you’re wrong!”

Bow had taken a step back, eyes darting between the two opponents as they pitched their fit. Glimmer had stepped into Adora’s space, hands on her hips and her head tilted up so she could maintain fiery eye contact. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, too nervous to stay in one spot. On the one hand, Glimmer was right. If Adora and Catra were moving in, there was only one available unit on Bright Moon court they could be moving into: the empty unit next to the one he shared with Glimmer. Their building was a duplex, two matching townhouses in the same building connected by a shared deck on the second floor. If they were moving in, they were going to be Glimmer and Bow’s neighbors. Practically their roommates. Bow didn’t necessarily mind the idea of getting new roommates, he loved people after all, but Glimmer’s mother had promised them she would give them final approval on candidates before letting anyone sign a lease. 

If Adora and Catra were here to sign papers, Angella had either a) broken that promise, or b) put Glimmer and Bow in a position where refusing would make them look like very bad people. How were they supposed to say no to Adora’s baby blues? Just imagining that sad face was giving Bow anxiety. And Catra? Catra would probably hunt them down if they said she couldn’t stay there. And Bow did not want to be on a magicat’s menu. 

The yelling must have attracted Catra, because she was very suddenly standing at Bow’s shoulder. And she was growling. He screeched, jumping away. She ignored him, stalking forward, coming to Adora’s defense. 

“Why don’t you take a step _back,_ Sparkles?” Her request, no, her demand, was punctuated by the hold she took of Glimmer’s comforter. She gave a yank, and Glimmer stumbled out of Adora’s personal bubble. 

“You again?” Glimmer said. She finally dropped her comforter to the ground. If she had to suffer an annoying load of laundry later to pull free of Catra’s grip, so be it. She was left in just her thin pajamas, a matching set of pale lilac shorts and sleeveless top. The heat of her anger protected her from the chill. 

Catra eyed Glimmer’s pajama set with what could have both distaste and disbelief. She groaned as she muttered, “Of course she has matching pjs.”

“Wait, are you saying you don’t?” Bow asked. In his mind, nice pajamas were a necessity. Required to signal the brain that it was time for sleep. If they were cute, patterned, or fuzzy, all the better. 

“I’m wearing my pjs, Charming. Do they look designer to you?” Catra sniffed. She stepped around Glimmer and stood at Adora’s side, throwing an arm around the blonde’s shoulders. It was clear from the familiar way Adora leaned into the touch, the way the twitch of Catra’s tail instantly calmed when she was touching Adora, that these two were close. Very close. Which meant that Glimmer had very likely insulted Adora when she’d insulted Catra. _Perfect. Way to go, self._ “Aren’t our new neighbors fun, Adora?” Catra asked, sarcasm dripping from every word. Adora didn’t say anything in response. She looked poised for a fight, if anything, with only Catra’s touch keeping her at bay. Glimmer would have thought it would be the other way around. Catra did lay hands first, after all, pulling at Glimmer’s comforter the way she did. (Glimmer would admit to herself later that she had been the one’s to make things physical. Stepping into Adora’s space like that, they’d practically been nose to nose.)

“You make an excellent point, Catra. We clearly aren’t compatible as neighbors. Why don’t you move along, find somewhere else to drag your hunk of junk truck?”

“As if!” Catra spat. “I don’t know what crawled up your ass and died, princess, but-”  
“My name is Glimmer!”  
“I don’t care!”

"What is going on here?"

Glimmer only turned because it was her mother's voice. Her mother's angry voice.

Angella looked as poised and perfect as ever. What time did she have to wake up, to be that perfect and put together before the sun had finished rising?

"Mom!" Glimmer shouted, relieved. She missed the surprise on Catra's face, who finally let her fur settle as she took a step back and resumed her post at Adora's side, curling her tail around Adora's waist for warmth. She turned and mouthed, 'Mom?' at Adora, Adora who could only shrug and try to calm her own nerves. While Catra was a firecracker, ready to burst at a moment's notice and fizzing out the moment the confrontation was over, Adora was a slow boil. When her dander was raised it took a while for the bubbles to settle. Glimmer being so rude and confrontational with Catra had left a bad taste in Adora’s mouth.

Glimmer hurried to her mom's side, stepping over her discarded comforter. "Mom, thank goodness you're here. Please tell these hooligans that they are not moving into our duplex!"

Angella was unfazed, used to her daughter’s outbursts. She slipped her car keys into her bag, swapping them for a thick folder that likely contained Adora and Catra’s lease. Her Audi was parked just a few feet away, pristine as usual. "But they are."

"Ha! You hear that? You two are-" Glimmer paused. The wheels in her tired head cranked, with great effort. "Wait. What? Mom, no!"

Angella sighed, bringing up a well-manicured hand to rub away the furrows in her brow before they settled. "Glimmer, we will discuss this later." The tall woman raised her head, offering a professional smile to Adora and Catra. Both looked awestruck by Angella’s arrival. No one would blame them; being nearly six foot and thin as a rail, it would not have been surprising to see Angella on the cover of a magazine. Her manner of dress only reinforced the impression. Designer business suits and tailored slacks, a bag worth more than any piece of furniture in their rented moving truck. “Adora? Catra? If you would please follow me, I’ll give you a tour and then we’ll get your papers signed. I should be out of your hair in no time.”

Catra’s ears only twitched. She seemed nervous, even shy. Adora was the one that snapped to attention. “Not at all, ma’am!” She said, in a voice that every parent loved to hear: respectful, polite. Not too loud. Eager to please.

Glimmer grabbed her mom’s hand tried to plead with her. “Mom, you promised!”

“Glimmer!” Angella scolded her daughter as she took back her hand. “Enough. You and Bow will go inside and wait for me. I will explain things after I’ve taken care of our new guests. Am I understood?”

Glimmer crossed her arms, glaring at the ground. She knew her mother was waiting for an affirmative, expecting it. She was definitely going to be getting a lecture for how _unreasonable_ she was being, how _disappointing_ her behavior was. Glimmer wasn’t trying to be a jerk, she knew that from Adora and Catra’s perspective she was being a bully, but it wasn’t fair! She didn’t want new neighbors, and her mother knew that! Knew that it was hard enough for Glimmer to make friends when she was at her best. How was she supposed to be herself when she knew there were complete strangers living not twenty feet away? 

Bow nudged her shoulder. She looked up. Her mom was still waiting. Glimmer sighed. “Yeah, mom.”

“Good.” And then Angella was brushing past them, heading to the front of the house. There were two doors, both a bright pink that Bow had chosen when they’d first moved in. Glimmer and Bow used the right door. The right door led up to their half of the house. Angella fished a set of keys out of her bag and unlocked the left one. The brass ‘1’ screwed into the wood paneling to the left of it needed to be tightened, and there was no welcome mat to brush the dirt from your shoes with. It was the un-lived-in half of the house, the half that Angella occasionally had asked Bow to peek in and air out. He wouldn’t need to do that anymore, it would seem.

Adora and Catra followed her mother, Adora purposefully ignoring her. That made Glimmer wince. Catra clearly saw her discomfort and was grinning because of it. As the pair passed by, Catra stuck her tongue out. Glimmer released her frustration in a mangled groan, stomping back over to her comforter and wrapping herself up in it.

“Come on, Bow. We might as well make breakfast.”

XXX

Bow put the cups of coffee down and immediately stepped back, glancing with concern between mother and daughter. Both were engaged in a silent stare-off, and though Glimmer took after her father anyone could see the family resemblance between mother and daughter. 

“Mom, you promised you’d never rent out the other half of the duplex without our approval! What’s the deal?”

Angella sampled her coffee before answering, taking her time to consider her words. “The ‘deal,’ young lady is this: though you are my daughter I am still legally your landlord. A verbal agreement is not binding in this situation. I understand that this is a shock to you both and I am sorry for that, but your behavior earlier was unacceptable. I had to apologize to both of them for your part in their unwelcoming arrival.” 

_I totally called that,_ Glimmer thought. “Unacceptable? Mom, have you met that magicat? I spent five seconds with her and wanted to claw her eyes out. How am I supposed to deal with her for a year?”

Angella’s voice was stern. “You’ll make due. As I understand it, you are the one that instigated the argument. Your status as a night owl notwithstanding, I asked them to be here at this time. If you want to be angry with anyone, be angry with me.”

Bow, thank goodness for Bow, jumped in before Glimmer could latch onto that juicy bait. Which was good, because she had am 'oh, I am-' ready on the tip of her tongue. 

“We understand, ma’am. But it seems like there might be more to the story… I mean, you did promise Glimmer and I that we’d get some say on who moved in.”

Angella finally allowed herself to show signs of whatever struggle she was having on the inside. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. Silver bracelets twinkled on each fine wrist. “An old friend called in a favor.”

“Who?” Bow prodded.

“I doubt you remember Madame Razz, Glimmer, but she was your nanny when you were still very young. I hired her not long after your father died, to take care of you when I was in the office.”

“You had a nanny?” Bow asked, surprise clear across his features.

Glimmer shrugged. Maybe she remembered an eccentric old woman telling her stories and taking her out to pick berries in her mother’s greenhouse, maybe she didn’t. 

“Well, Madame Razz comes from old money. Never had to work a day in her life, but that didn’t stop her. She’s always been eccentric, and fond of children. She’s been fostering for the last ten years or so. As she’s gotten older, it’s been harder and harder for her to leave her farm without assistance, so she’s eased off the outside caretaking and focusing on her foster children. She reached out to me and asked if I had any properties available for two ‘rambunctious little ladies’ that, quote, ‘needed room to grow into their destined shapes.’ I met with them and decided they should stay here.”

“Wait, they’re foster kids?” Glimmer was surprised. At first, she’d had the disappointing thought that Adora and Catra were dating, what with the way they were hanging off each other during the argument outside. Despite her residual anger, part of her was pleased with the realization that maybe Adora wasn’t off the market.

“Yes. That’s not going to be a problem, is it?” The way Angella was watching her made Glimmer sit up straighter. 

“No?”

“Good. Because truth be told, you two have lived very privileged lives. You’ve been kept very sheltered. I think this is a good opportunity for you two to meet some young people your own age, that didn’t grow up on private estates. From what Razz told me, these two have had a hard go of it. Neither spoke a word to anyone but the other when they were first placed with her. I imagine they’ll continue to keep to themselves for the most part, particularly after the ‘greeting’ they just received.” Had her mother literally just used air quotes? She had. The nerve.

Bow sat back down, diffusing the tension in the room by grabbing the bottle of syrup that sat in the middle of the table. He’d put out quite a spread while Glimmer had paced back and forth, ranting to no one in particular about how unfair this all was. Angella had been with Adora and Catra for about an hour, which had given him plenty of time to cook. There were pancakes and fruit salad and bacon, and Bow went to work pouring a heavy layer of syrup over the small stack of pancakes he’d pulled onto his plate. 

“Well, we can start by apologizing and seeing if they want any help with moving their stuff,” he said. He passed the bottle to Glimmer. His smile said two things. One: I know this sucks but there’s not much we can do about it right now. Two: Your pancakes will get cold, grumpy butt. Eat up.

XXX

Adora was diligently working on getting the furniture out of the rental truck. Catra seemed to be busy exploring their new place. All of the windows on their side of the duplex had been opened and occasionally Catra would pop out of one, shouting something down to Adora. Adora would shout something back, and Catra would disappear. 

Glimmer felt better now that she’d eaten. She’d also gotten dressed, her and Bow both. They’d put on moving-appropriate clothing: Bow in a pair of sturdy jeans and a muscle tank that exposed his abdomen and almost the whole of his back if you caught him at the right angle. Glimmer was wearing an off the shoulder t-shirt and leggings. It was a good excuse to wear her running shoes, because she certainly never used them for actual running. 

They ignored Adora at first, waiting by the deck stairs for Angella to finish chatting with her new tenants before walking her to her car. 

“Be nice, Glimmer,” her mother reminded her. 

“I’ll try,” Glimmer grumbled. She let her mother kiss her forehead without fuss, only batting her hand away when Angella tried to smooth out her daughter’s hair. Angella smiled, a soft upturn of the lips that made her look three years younger. She turned to say farewell to Bow, and Glimmer took the opportunity to observe Adora. 

The buff blonde made moving look easy, shouldering what could have been a small bookshelf on one side of her frame and using her other hand to heft a coffee table. She had donned a thick utility belt laden with various tools, a few of which Glimmer did not recognize but that Bow would have likely been able to name. He was the handyman of their group, not her. Adora stepped to the edge of the track and eased the bookshelf off her shoulder, carefully sliding it to the ground and tossing the coffee table after it. It landed in the plush grass with a subdued plunk, and Adora jumped down after it. She righted both pieces of furniture and moved them towards the growing pile of things she’d already removed from the truck.

Bow took Glimmer’s hand and sent her an encouraging smile. She turned back around to see her mother’s car making a three-point turn, which would allow her to take the two-lane road back to civilization. Bright Moon Court was a private road, Glimmer hadn’t been lying about that. A lot of the Council families owned houses on this drive. The Lunsk family, Glimmer’s family, was just one of them. There was the Salineas house across the pond, the Dryl house that was kept up but barely lived in, the Perfumeria house that was more of a summer garden than an actual residence… 

Glimmer would have to call her friends and let them know about the new neighbors. Mermista was not going to be happy, she knew that for a fact. 

“Come on, let’s go say hi.”

“Do we have to?”

“We promised your mom, so yes. And we should apologize for what happened this morning, maybe explain why we were so caught off guard?”

Why did Bow have to be so kind and wise? Glimmer didn’t want to apologize. She wanted to skip ahead to some distant future where she wasn’t embarrassed and kind of attracted to the new neighbor she had but didn’t want. Or better yet, she could roll back the clock to Saturday. She hadn’t had neighbors on Saturday. Saturday was a good day. 

She groaned and said a quick fine, allowing Bow to herd her towards the moving truck. 

_It’s not like I’m even going to be much help. Between the Valkyrie and my roommate-who-happens-to-be-a-fitness-instructor what’s going to be left for me to move?_

“Hey Adora!” Bow called out when they were close enough. Adora rose from where she was crouched in the truck, a big cardboard box in her grip. She glanced in their direction but didn’t say anything until she’d jumped down and placed the box with the others. 

“Hey. You back to yell at us some more?” Ouch. Glimmer felt her cheeks flushing. 

Bow was unfazed, however. “Nope. We’re actually here to apologize.”

“ _You_ don’t really have anything to apologize for.” Adora said. Her eyes shifted to Glimmer, and the angle of her brows shifted. She looked defensive, as if she were waiting for Glimmer to start shouting again. Sixteen year old Glimmer probably would have. 23 year old Glimmer had learned that the solution to a problem was, unfortunately, very rarely yelling. So she swallowed her pride and took a deep breath instead. 

“You’re right. _I_ need to apologize. And I am. Look, the way we reacted this morning was totally rude, I get that. We were just surprised because my mom wasn’t supposed to rent out your place without letting us meet the people that were going to be moving in. When you just suddenly showed up with your truck, I freaked out.” Adora didn’t say anything, which was unnerving. It would have been nice to receive an ‘oh, I get it’ or a ‘that would have bummed me out too!’ Glimmer even would have settled for something as simple as gotcha. Instead, what she got was expectant silence. Baby blue eyes, watching her. Guarded. “I am also not a morning person,” Glimmer continued. “If you’d shown up at like, three in the afternoon instead of six when I was barely awake, I probably wouldn’t have been in such a sour mood.”

“She's not lying, she really isn't a morning person,” Bow jumped in. “Never has been! Trying to wake her up when we were in school was downright impossible. I had to bribe her with frappuccinos and let me tell you, those things will put a dent in your wallet.” 

“I wouldn’t know,” Adora said. Finally, she speaks! “I’ve never had one.” But why did her words have to be so sad? 

Bow’s eyes went comically wide. “You’ve never had a frappuccino before?”

“Nope.” Adora abruptly turned back to the truck, hopping up and resuming her task of emptying the bed of all possessions. 

“Wait!” Bow called out, raising a hand as if it would call Adora back to him. “Do you want help? It’ll go faster with four people.”

Adora didn’t bother to turn around. She was already hoisting her next big box, tools jangling around in the pockets of her belt. “No, we’ve got it. Once I get everything out Catra’s going to drive the truck back into town. We get a discount if it’s back before noon.”

“So you’re going to carry everything inside by yourself?” Glimmer asked, incredulous. Was Adora just being stubborn? Was she still mad? 

“Yeah,” Adora replied. “We have Sundays off, so I can’t get my usual workout in. This is perfect. And it’ll give me a chance to map out the house a few different ways before Catra gets back. If I let her decide where the furniture goes, everything will just end up wherever she pushes it and we’ll never properly get moved in.”

“Look, if you’re still mad-”

“I’m not.” Adora’s voice was firm. She didn’t sound not-mad though, so Glimmer didn’t buy it. It must have shown on her face because Adora sighed and looked away. “Look, you didn’t want neighbors. I get it. But we’re here now. Ignore us, if that makes it easier for you. We both work long hours so you won’t see us much during the week. And Catra’s usually out with her girlfriend on the weekends, which just leaves me.”

Adora looked like she wanted to say more, but Catra chose that moment to come out of the house. She’d thrown on a ratty sweatshirt with the words ‘Straight Offa Beast Island’ in bold, blocky letters on the front. The string tie was missing from the hood, which looked too small to ever have the hope of containing Catra’s thick mane. “Adora, you done moving stuff yet? Scorpia just called me. I want to get out of here soon.”

“Almost,” Adora shouted back. She was smiling now, and a sad pang went through Glimmer’s chest. So, Adora would smile for Catra, but not her? Even after the apology, which was as genuine as Glimmer could make it, she was going to keep her distance? Fine. If that’s how it was, that’s how it was. If Adora wanted Glimmer to ignore her, then ignore her she would. 

“Well move over, loser. Let’s get this show on the road.” Catra joined Adora in the truck and with that it became very clear that Bow and Glimmer had been dismissed. Catra began to grab boxes and tossing them onto the ground with very little care. Adora didn’t seem to mind. 

Glimmer forced herself to make an abrupt turn, an about face. “Come on, Bow.”

“But-”

“Didn’t you hear them? They don’t want our help. We’ve been dismissed.” And Bow did consider pushing harder, further. He didn’t want things to end like that, didn’t want their to be bad blood between both parties on the first day. But, as he followed Glimmer back up the deck stairs, he reasoned with himself that pushing wasn’t a guarantee. And they would have plenty of time to build bridges, after all. He could even start tomorrow. If Catra and Adora really did work all week, he could pretty up the front entrance of their unit for them, maybe put out some new plants on the deck. He could even call Entrapta and see if she’d come out a few days early to help him with tiny cupcakes! Because he knew Glimmer wasn’t angry. Not really. Embarrassed, more like.

If she’d been angry, he wouldn’t have caught her wistfully staring out the living room window, watching Adora carry box after box with her big broad shoulders. Glimmer had always been a sucker for shoulders.


	2. Chapter 2

Their morning routine was this: Bow woke up around 6:30 and was in the living room with a cup of coffee by 7. No alarm clock was necessary. He’d never had trouble waking up in the morning. Glimmer, on the other hand, could always be relied upon to stumble from her room after 9. If she was awake before then it was because Bow bribed her with something sweet or she was on her way to murder whatever had woken her up. Case in point: yesterday morning. 

But that had been then, and Monday was now. Bow was up and working through a brief yoga routine out on the deck, hoping to catch a glimpse of his new besties-to-be. Used to being the first one up, he was surprised when he realized that Catra’s red pickup was already gone from the gravel driveway, and that a collection of shoes that were not his or Glimmer’s had made it out onto the deck. The deck was wraparound, shaped like a ‘C,’ made of two right angles stuck together like the numbers on a digital clock. He had to tiptoe to the opposite end and peek around the corner of the building to see the shoes. They were in a haphazard pile next to the door. Adora must have been telling the truth about Catra’s disdain for proper organization. 

Grinning Bow decided to organize them himself. Adora’s shoes were easy to differentiate from Catra’s for three reasons. They were bigger, they had less fur on them (less, not none), and for the most part they were closed-toed. Catra seemed to prefer open-toed. That made sense. If she had claws on her feet, it was all too easy for him to imagine her getting angry or startled and tearing right through the fabric of a pair of Pumas. 

Once the shoes were in two neat piles, Bow took a moment to survey the state of the door itself. The paint had started to crack in one corner, and there were cobwebs around the frame… and the welcome mat that had been there for the longest time had been replaced by one that read ‘Guard Cat on Duty.’ “At least we know they have a sense of humor,” Bow said aloud to no one. There were no lights on inside the unit, none that he could see, and if Catra’s car was gone then the pair were probably already gone for the day. If he remembered correctly, they still worked on their foster mother’s farm. He didn’t know much of anything about farming aside from what all city kids learned in romanticized nursery rhymes, so cows and boots and rooster calls, but it did feel right to assume that farmhands worked long days. Up with the sun and all that, right? Working ‘til the cows come home? 

He walked back around to his side of the deck, grabbed his phone off the lounge chair where he’d left it. He paused his morning playlist, pulling up his contacts and scrolling until he found Entrapta. There was a 50/50 chance she’d be up and he was feeling lucky. For good reason, because she answered on the third ring.

“Bow!” The sound of her voice made him smile, made his heart beat just the tiniest bit faster. He was so excited for her visit. He’d missed tinkering around in her shop together, braiding her hair when he got bored with his own work so he’d have something to do with his hands while she explained her latest project to him. “I was just thinking about you," she said. "Actually, what time is it? Hang on, I’m going to put you on speaker-” shuffling and a loud ‘clank’ came over the phone. “Oh. Well, technically I was thinking about you yesterday.”

“Another all-nighter, huh?” he asked, already knowing the answer. “Are you sticking to your numbers, like we talked about?”

“Yes! Last week I only had two. I averaged 6.15 hours a night. That’s up 17% from six months ago!”

“That’s great, Sweet Tooth.” Entrapta could get a little… manic when she was working on projects and for awhile she had barely been sleeping at all. It had taken a lot of talks and a lot of hard scientific evidence that a lack of sleep would be a detriment to her work before she finally started taking her sleeping schedule seriously. 

She giggled at the nickname, one he’d been using since they’d first gotten together. “So what’s up?”

“Where do I start?” Bow went to the railing, putting his own phone on speaker so he could carefully place it on the beam where he leaned against it. “To start, we have new neighbors.” 

“So you and Glimmer finally gave Angella the go-ahead with a new tenant?”

“Not exactly.” He gave her a play-by-play of everything that had gone down yesterday, from the unfortunate beginning to the intriguing ending that was practically calling for him to play Cupid. Adora was so Glimmer’s type it was almost unfair, for Glimmer at least. The breath she’d released when Angella had told them Catra was Adora’s foster sister and not her girlfriend had been so transparent Bow had fought not to release a chuckle. If she wasn’t officially crushing now, he estimated that she would be within the week. And then it would probably take a maximum of another two weeks to confess it to him. He would be busy preparing in the meantime. Charm had always been his strong suit, whether it was parents or doctors or schoolyard bullies. He could handle a workaholic blonde (hello, new workout buddy!) and a grumpy magicat. So long as he stayed out of the range of her teeth and claws, at least. 

“Interesting… I’ve always found matchmaking to be a form of sociological experimentation. I haven’t done one of those in a while. Can I help?”

“That is exactly why I called you, Sweet Tooth. Is there any way you can come down to the Dryl family lakehouse a few days early? I was thinking our famous tiny cupcakes would make the perfect peace offering. And I need someone on my side here. Glimmer’s going to be in a mood until she realizes she’s already halfway to being in love, and Adora and Catra do not think very highly of us right now. Sure would be nice if I had my girlfriend here to keep my spirits up.”

Bow heard Entrapta hum, a contemplative purr that probably meant she was at that very moment surveying her workshop and deciding what projects she could pack up and take with her. She would probably arrive with her van loaded to capacity. “I can be there by nightfall today, if I drive fast enough! Will you make sure that family of possums hasn’t come back? Leave the spiders, if there are any, unless they’re venomous. Do you need me to send you the latest environmental advisories for our area?”

“No, Entrapta, I’m good.”

“Not even the one about rising tick populations?”

“Especially not that one. Keep me posted, okay? And drive safe.”

“Okay! Bye!” The line went dead, but Bow picked the phone up and watched the screen with a waiting smile on his face. Sure enough, Entrapta called him back not ten seconds after she hung up. He answered and put the phone to his ear. He didn’t even have to say anything. Sounding sheepish, Entrapta said, “I forgot to say it again.”

“Say what?” he teased. 

“I love you?” 

“What a coincidence. I just so happen to love you too.” She giggled again, the way she did when he called her ‘sweet tooth.’ “Bye, Entrapta. I’ll see you soon.”

XXX

Catra had always refused to help with the hoof medicine because she claimed to hate the way it smelled. Adora knew it was really because the horses scared her and she was too cool to admit it. Swift Wind in particular was on her Shit List, because he had a bad habit of headbutting people he liked. And he liked everybody. He’d also whacked Catra in the face with his tail once, and she had never forgiven him for it. Adora didn’t like the way it smelled anymore than Catra did, but she didn’t let that stop her from taking care of their animals. Then again, she wasn’t a magicat. Her nose was about as sharp as a ball of dough compared to Catra’s. 

“Come on, Swift Wind, be a good boy and stay still for me.” Adora had his hoof held securely in her right hand and was trying to apply the medicine with her left. Only problem with that was the fact that she was right-handed. And Swift Wind was wiggling. 

“Is he really Swift Wind right now?” Catra quipped. She had a chicken in her arms, a hen she’d taken to calling ‘Georgette’ that was an absolute sucker for Catra’s affection. “Shouldn’t we be calling him Lame Wind?” 

“Got it!” Adora let out a huge sigh of relief as she stood, dropping Swift Wind’s hoof and stepping away to put the medicine back in it’s box. “He can’t help that the ground’s gone soft,” she said. Swift Wind was one of her favorites, she had to defend him. The spunky dappled gray colt was always at the fence waiting for her in the morning, his hooves and ankles wet with morning dew collected from the long grass as he paced back and forth. Since his hoof had gotten tender though, he’d been restricted to the stables. Brief walks only while the ground in the pasture hardened and the medicine did it’s job. If he was hyperactive because of it, they had to cut him some slack. “I doubt he likes having a sore hoof anymore than we like having to deal with it.”

“Are you sure about that?” Catra said with a smirk.

Just then, Swift Wind’s forehead was knocking into Adora’s temple. He snorted and shoved his velvety lips into Adora’s empty hands, sniffing around for food. Catra just laughed as Adora winced, a subdued ‘ouch’ escaping her. She reached up and rubbed at the tender spot, hoping it wouldn’t bruise later. “Alright, you naughty boy. Back in your stall.”

Catra followed them from a safe distance as Adora led Swift Wind back to his temporary home in the barn. Georgette had fallen asleep in the magicat’s arms. “What else do we have on the list?” she asked. 

“Replacing the wire on coop three, checking on the baby rabbits Kyle found out by the greenhouse, you have to hop on the mower and take care of the riding trail that loops around the crabapple trees…” Once the stall door was securely shut Adora looped Swift Wind’s harness around it’s hook and pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. Razz had texted them their list of chores between snatches of a story about some berry picking adventure she’d gone on with her old friend Broomhilda yesterday while Adora and Catra had been moving, and Adora was much better at cutting through the well-meant nonsense to the heart of the work than Catra was. “While you’re doing that I can help Lonnie with the other horses. Razz wants us to check all of them for any signs of lameness, on account of Swift Wind’s hoof.”

“I get to ride the mower unsupervised and you get to stick your face in a bunch of muddy hooves? Sucks to be you. Speaking of sucking, how about our new neighbors?” The pair walked side by side out of the barn, boots leaving a clear trail behind them as they went. The new chicken wire Rogelio had picked up for all the chicken coops was in the workshed, so they headed in that direction. That job could potentially take them a while to complete, so they’d get that done then break for lunch. Their days at the barn started at 6:00 AM, and they were usually done by 3:00 PM. Starting today though, they wouldn’t be heading back to their room at the farmhouse, as they’d been doing since they were sixteen. Today they’d be hopping in Catra’s truck and making the forty-minute drive back to Bright Moon Court, to their new place. Their first place, really. The first place that had ever been theirs, that they could do with what they pleased. Catra was already talking about painting the walls new colors, about installing pull-up bars in all the doorways and a hammock on the deck. Catra had always wanted a hammock. 

They were even paying rent, though not in the way most people did. Razz paid them for their work at the barn, the way she would have paid any outside employees she would have been forced to hire if Adora and Catra hadn’t insisted on staying with her, and because of her history with Mrs. Lunsk Razz simply withheld a portion of their pay every period. She was going to be having monthly lunch meetings with Mrs. Lunsk to check in and see how her girls were doing, and she’d give Angella the rent as a lump sum then. 

So Adora and Catra were on their way to becoming real adults, as terrifying as that thought was. Catra’s joy over their newfound freedom was infectious despite any anxiety Adora might have been feeling. Their rude awakening yesterday morning had become more of a joke between the two than any serious offense. 

“They don’t seem that bad,” Adora offered. “They did apologize right away and offer to help us move in.”

“Because Mommy told them to. Duh! You think they would have been nice if they hadn’t gotten chewed out by Legs for Days?”

Well they definitely won’t be nice if Glimmer hears you calling her mother ‘Legs for Days,’ Adora thought. “Maybe not. But it does prove they’re not total jerks. Bow seems genuinely nice, at least.”

“Figures you’d cut the potential workout buddy some slack. Always scheming, aren’t we Adora?”

“I wouldn’t have to look for a workout buddy if you took me and my regimens seriously.”

“I can’t take anyone that enjoys burpees seriously, Adora. That’s not fitness, that’s torture.” 

Replacing the wire on the chicken coop was a pain. First, they had to move all of the chickens out so Catra could get on the inside and work without interruption. One of the hens had a habit of going after hands in her immediate vicinity and Catra needed hers to keep the wire steady while Adora installed it. The removal of the existing wire was a hand-wrenching pain-in-the-butt process that ended with Adora slicing open her forearm on accident. That left Catra alone to make sure the chickens didn’t bully each other while Adora ran up to the farmhouse for disinfectant and bandages. 

Razz was in the kitchen washing berries when Adora ran inside. She’d told Adora and Catra that she was going to be spending the day baking pies for the girls to take home with them that afternoon, to their delight. Adora shouted, “I’m just running in for some first aid, Madame Razz! Back in a second!”

“Okay, dearie! Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just nicked myself with the edge of the chicken wire.” 

Adora was thorough with the disinfectant and precise with the antibacterial cream she smeared over the cut. A few wraps of gauze later, she was trotting back out into the kitchen. Like all the rooms in Madame Razz’s house, it was covered in knick knacks. Little sculptures of fairies and mushrooms and woodland creatures, sets of salt and pepper shakers that had never actually seen salt or pepper. A big bookshelf filled to the brim with cookbooks and scraps of paper with recipes hastily scribbled on them was set against one wall, with a smaller cabinet beside it filled with dainty tea sets Adora had always had an irrational fear of breaking. 

“Can I take a few out to Catra?” Adora asked as she hovered above Razz’s shoulder. The old woman had started to shrink with age. Her head barely came to Adora’s shoulder, even with her bushy white hair and big hats giving her an extra few inches. 

“Of course dear, let me get you a hankie to wrap them in.” Wizened old hands carefully gathered a few particularly plump raspberries and placed them in the center of a flattened napkin. Razz wrapped it up with precise movements, creating a cute little to-go bag that she pushed into Adora’s waiting hands. Then the old woman tugged on Adora’s collar, and with a smile Adora leaned down so Razz could press a quick, dry peck to her cheek. “Do make sure Kyle hasn’t fallen into the pond for me. I sent him out there with a gallon of sludge remover an hour ago and you know how easy it is for that poor boy to fall into trouble. And ponds.”

“Sure thing, Madame Razz. I’m sure he’ll be fine until Catra and I can get the new chicken wire installed.” As if Rogelio would let him do anything even mildly dangerous by himself. 

Catra was all too happy to steal the berries from Adora the moment she saw them. Her pupils dilating was all the warning Adora got before she was pounced on and robbed. Purrs rumbled from Catra’s throat as she tore open the bag and popped three berries into her waiting mouth. 

“Hey, save some for me you brat.” 

“If you’re lucky,” Catra said. 

Adora rolled her eyes. She pushed Catra back far enough to rise up onto her elbows, and when she did she saw that the new wire had already been installed on the coop. “You’re already done?” She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. Catra had always been something of a layabout when it came to farm work. It was hard to keep her on task, and if there ever was a task she was dead set against doing good luck getting her to do it. She’d gotten away with it for so long because Adora didn’t mind picking up the slack, so it was surprising to see what was normally an irritating job done in the time it took her to run to the house and back. 

Catra hummed an affirmative, taking the opportunity to pop a berry into Adora’s open mouth. “Don’t look so surprised.” 

The truth was, Catra had been doing really well lately. She’d never be a morning person, but she hadn’t overslept in over a week. Tasks on her to do list were completed with relatively little fanfare, and her spats with Scorpia had decreased by a noticeable enough margin that Adora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been dragged to the nearby mall to aid in the quest for an apology gift. Thinking about all the progress Catra had made, seeing her happy, made Adora’s insides go all soft and squishy. Her vision started to mist, and her throat felt tight. 

Catra, seeing this, pressed the tip of Adora’s nose with an extended claw like it was a big red ‘Do Not Push’ button. “You hit your head or something? You got dain bramage?” But her tone was soft, her eyes softer. 

“I’m just happy,” was all Adora could say. And Catra smiled. Verbal or nonverbal, they’d always been able to grasp the weight of the other’s emotions regardless of the cause. It was an asset but could be a vicious liability, particularly when one knew the other was upset but didn’t know why. Growing up together, when they’d been at their worst, their fights had always revolved around the barbed wire Catra put up around her heart and Adora’s sheer refusal to admit that the version of herself she presented to the world was not who she really was. For so long, they’d been pitted against each other, made to live in ways that led them to conflict like mice to a mousetrap. And none of it had been their faults. Getting placed with Madame Razz when they were sixteen had saved their friendship. Perhaps it had saved even more than that. 

Four years later, they had grown into the people they had always meant to be, versions of themselves they were happy to greet in the mirror each morning. There would be relapses, of course. The scars hiding beneath Catra’s fur would always be there. Adora’s nightmares still waited for her at night, striking out at random. There was no panacea for trauma. 

But they were happy. They were on a good path. They would be okay. They would always have each other. _And I’m happy that she has Scorpia. Scorpia is good for her._

Little did Adora know that, in the very same moment that thought ran through her head, Catra had a thought of her own. As she stood, offering a hand to pull her best friend up and brush the dirt from her shoulders, Catra thought, _Now we just need to get you a girlfriend._

Lunch with the family was a rambunctious affair, as always. Madame Razz sat at the head of their long dining room table, sipping tea from a handmade mug Lonnie had made. Lonnie had joined the Razz household at seven, and was fast approaching her sixteenth birthday. Catra thought it was weird that Lonnie was going to be the age that she and Adora had been when they’d first been brought to Razzle Dazzle Farm. Back then sixteen year old Catra, bitter and silent and twitchy, had hated the name. 

Kyle was asking Adora about the baby rabbits. They were doing fine. Adora had taken pictures of them with her phone and promised to show him after lunch. The same could not be said for Kyle, who had in fact managed to fall in the pond during his attempts to clean it. Rogelio had fished him out. The fourteen year old’s blond hair was still wet, flat for once from the weight of the water, even after he’d gone upstairs to change and towel the worst of the water off. Kyle had only been with Razz for about a year, and was still very shy. Rogelio was the oldest at seventeen, and also the most independent. Whether that was his natural nature or the fact that every night he had to drive into town to stay at the Incubation Chamber all lizards slept in was anyone’s guess. Being cold-blooded it was very important that lizards get to sleep in temperature-controlled environments, and nights at the farm could dip into freezing. Razz had offered to have Rogelio’s room equipped with the at-home versions of the technology but he had always refused. Politely, as he did everything.

“When do we get to see your new digs?” Lonnie asked. “I wanna see your pink neighbor for myself. I think you’re making her up.”

“I wish I was,” Catra said. “I don’t know what’s crazier: that her name is literally Glimmer or that I think her hair is naturally that color.”

“No one’s hair is naturally pink,” Lonnie shot back.

“Her mom’s kinda is.” 

“Her mom the runway model?” 

“Hell yeah, I-” Catra paused, ear falling flat. She shot a sheepish look towards the head of the table. “Sorry, Madame Razz. I meant, uh…” Cursing at the table was a no-no. 

But Razz didn’t seem bothered. She was content to spread her homemade jam across a fresh biscuit, passing it to Kyle only to grab another and begin the process again. “Her mother is beautiful, isn’t she? A lovely woman. Always so frustrated about something not worth being frustrated over. Just like Adora when she was younger!”

“And still is,” Catra muttered just loud enough for Adora to hear. When Adora protested, Catra just laughed. “We can bring you runts around this weekend. It’ll give us an excuse not to bond with our new neighbors when they attempt ‘Take Two’ of their lame apology. Rogelio can help Adora install my hammock.”

“And why can’t _Catra_ help Adora install the hammock?” Adora asked, a playful glare in her bright blue eyes. Lonnie laughed, and Rogelio smiled in that quiet way that meant he was happy. Kyle was too nervous to laugh but he did hide a grin behind his hands. 

“Try to play nice, girls. I knew Glimmer when she was just a tot. She may be a firecracker, but she is kind. It doesn’t have to be now, but you should give her another chance to make a good first impression.” 

Adora and Catra shared a look. The rest of lunch was spent fielding questions from Lonnie and Adora eating more food than should have been possible. Once the table was cleared Adora took a moment to show Kyle the pictures of the baby bunnies and ruffle his hair while Catra stole a few more raspberries from the kitchen. 

The afternoon work went by quickly, as they did their chores separately. Catra had a blast racing around the riding trails on the farm’s old mower, and Adora helped Lonnie check all the horses. None of them showed any signs of sore feet, which was good. Soon enough it was time for them to head home. Their new routine was far from set in stone; without meaning to do so Catra went straight to the room she used to share with Adora, as she had been doing for so long. She was kicking off her boots and reaching for the hem of her shirt before she took a good look around and realized that nearly everything was gone. The posters, the LED lights she had taped to the ceiling, their TV… all of it was gone. The room looked so bare. Sure, there were a few spare sets of clothes still waiting for them in the closet if they ever needed them, and the beds were still made, but they weren’t made with Catra and Adora’s sheets. Madame Razz had made them up with spare sheets from her linen closet. Seeing that, it felt like some higher power had grasped Catra's heart in their hand and squeezed.

She jumped on Adora’s bed, claws extending out of an instinct to knead. The sheets were soft. The smell was wrong. Less Adora than it should have been. She glanced at the open door, to see if anyone was coming. Then she laid down, curling into a loose ball. She pressed her face into the sheets, inhaling deeply. Was it possible to be happy and sad at the same time?

There was a dip in the mattress beside her. A familiar hand running through her mane. “Razz is sending us home with three pies. One for each of us, and one for the neighbors.”

“What if I want to keep it?” Catra asked, voice muffled by the fabric. She didn’t want Adora to see that her eyes had misted over. 

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”

XXX

Glimmer was in her studio when she heard Catra’s truck rumbling down the drive. She called it a studio, but it was really a workshed not far from the house that they’d had renovated so Bow had a place to tinker and Glimmer had a place to paint. Her tablet had its own setup as well at a separate desk. 

Being a freelancer was rough. Not as rough as it would have been if she hadn’t been born into money, but still rough. It was the worst combination of creative burnout and service-industry customer relations nonsense, and she never felt like she had enough time on her hands. Her latest project had been a bust so far; she’d been contracted to do some illustrative work for a children’s book but so far nothing she’d come up with had felt good enough to share with the client. And they were getting impatient. If she didn’t have some preliminary character designs for the main character done by the end of this week, she was going to be in hot water. 

Normally when she was in this sort of situation she’d lean on Bow for inspiration, but he was off getting the Dryl house ready for Entrapta. She was supposed to be arriving soon. Entrapta was sort of a mixed bag in Glimmer’s view; the scientist was inventive and enthusiastic but she had a tendency to be reckless and her social skills were (through no fault of her own) almost designed to push buttons. But she made Bow happy, and she certainly made their lives more interesting. And she could be surprisingly sweet. Bow didn’t just call her ‘sweet tooth’ for her love of cupcakes and candy. 

Sighing, she put her pen down and left the shed, locking up behind her. You could never be too careful, even if they rarely had strangers driving this way. 

Catra and Adora were indeed home, it seemed. Catra’s red pickup was parked in front of the house, the tires muddy. They were just getting out, Adora holding a big bag carefully in her arms. She really was beautiful. Ridiculously so. Not in a runway sort of manner, like Glimmer's mother undeniably was. Not even in the unique, eye-catching way Catra was. But there was a girl next door charm to Adora, if the girl next door had picked up knighthood as a day job. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a quiet smile. Glimmer wondered what she would look like with her hair down. Wondered what she’d look like in shorts, in a dress, in patterned pajamas… 

Catra caught her staring. In a loud voice the magicat called out, “Whatcha up to, Glitter?”

Glimmer sighed. “Why is she like this?” she muttered under her breath. 

“What was that?”

_Crud, she heard me._ “I said, ‘back from work?’ You certainly look like you just left a farm.” Both of them were covered in mud from the ankles down, and there were grass stains on Catra’s shirt. As Glimmer got closer, she could also spot hay sticking out of Adora’s ponytail. 

“Yeah,” Adora answered for them both. Catra rolled her eyes, and Glimmer had a feeling that she knew that hadn’t been what Glimmer had said. “Here, Madame Razz wanted us to give this to you.” Adora placed the bag on the ground and crouched down to reach inside it. When she stood back up, she was holding a pie. Homemade, by the look of it, wrapped in parchment paper. “It’s raspberry,” Adora said, holding the pastry out for Glimmer to grab. 

“Oh, that’s so sweet.” Glimmer said as she took the dessert from Adora. Her cheeks were warm, and her skin tingled where it had brushed against Adora’s when they made the exchange. “I’ll have to share this with Bow when he gets back. Will you tell her ‘thank you’ for me when you see her tomorrow?”

“Sure.” 

Adora turned to follow after Catra, who was struggling to pick the right key and unlock the front door. Without warning, or a conscious decision on her part, words came tumbling from Glimmer’s mouth. “You smell like a barn.” 

_Why did I say that? What the heck, self?_

Adora’s eyes widened, and she raised her arm to take an experimental sniff. Finding nothing amiss there, she checked her boots to make sure she hadn’t stepped in anything nasty. All the while Glimmer was panicking. “I-I didn’t mean in a bad way! It’s kind of nice. You know, _rustic._ ” She trailed off with a nervous laugh, and if she had been flushed before she had to have been tomato red at that moment. 

“Uh… thanks?” Adora looked uncomfortable, and out of the corner of her eye Glimmer could see Catra glaring at her.

“We don’t all have the luxury of lounging for a living, Sparkles. C’mon, Adora.” Catra grabbed Adora’s arm and pulled, herding her into their unit until there wasn’t a single blonde hair in sight. She lingered at the threshold just long enough to give Glimmer a warning. With a disdainful sniff, she said, “Don’t take that as some sort of peace offering. Razz wanted you to have it, not us. Wouldn’t feel right lying to the old broad about giving it to you, so that’s the only reason I’m not keeping it.” 

Glimmer frowned, pulling the pie closer to her chest. “Don’t go doing me any favors, Catra.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” And with that, Catra gave a yank at the doorknob and the door slammed shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> entrapta is fun, bow is a virgo like me so he basically does as I would do


	3. Chapter 3

Adora was the cook, Catra the critic. Catra always had to season her own plate, mostly to be a brat but also because Adora tended to err on the side of under seasoning. Sunday night had been a mad scramble to unpack the basics and start pushing furniture into possible permanent placements, so they’d settled for microwavable burritos then. But with Adora being such a fitness nut, their second night in their new place was much different. The blonde hated eating processed food, used it as a last resort when she was starving and a half step away from sleeping. Unpacking the kitchen had been her number one priority, so she could avoid having to eat another frozen monstrosity for the second night in a row. 

Adora had pulled her trusty cast iron griddle out of one of the many cardboard boxes still piled on the dining room table, flat on one side with ridges on the other, and was grilling up salmon for the both of them. Asparagus too, picked from the farm. Catra dug around for plates and cups and silverware, running them through the dishwasher for Adora to grab later because Catra did not do dishes with her bare hands. Water was her mortal enemy.

Water… and now Glimmer. Their obnoxious pink neighbor had the hots for Adora. Catra had seen it written all over the shorty’s face earlier, when she’d pathetically tripped over her own tongue and blushed brighter than a string of fairy lights. Adora was of course oblivious, as she always was, but this was a rare instance where Catra was glad for her best friend’s true identity as a big buff idiot. Catra didn’t want Adora realizing. Catra could nip this in the bud before it started to take root and find Adora a girlfriend that wasn’t some spoiled rich bitch. Maybe Scorpia would have a single friend or two Catra could vet…

“I’ll be right back,” Catra announced, closing the dishwasher door with a thump. She patted her back pocket to make sure her phone was still there, then hurried back to her room. 

The apartment had a simple layout: the front door opened directly to a staircase that, if climbed, opened into a shared living and dining room space. The kitchen would be to your left, a decently large space that gave you access to the deck, but to the right was a short hallway with three doors. Those doors led to a bathroom, Adora’s bedroom, and Catra’s bedroom respectively. Catra ducked into her room, closing the door behind her so she would have privacy for her call. 

When her girlfriend of four months answered, Catra cut right to the point. “Hey, do you have any single friends?”

“Hey, wildcat! Ah, let me think, do I have any single friends… wait, why? Are you- did I do something wrong?”

Catra let out a sigh. “Not for me, Scorpia. For Adora.” 

“Oh! Oh, thank goodness. You scared me there for a second!” There was a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone and when Catra rolled her eyes there was affection in her smile. “Now, the answer is: no, I don’t have any single friends for Adora. My follow up question is: why do you ask?”

“Because pinky has a crush on her and I am so not letting that happen.”

“Your neighbor Glimmer? How do you know?”

Catra groaned, jumping up to perch on the windowsill. Her tail was like a whip cracking, a sign of her irritation. “Just trust me.”

“I trust you with my _life_ , wildcat. But why is Glimmer having a crush on Adora a bad thing exactly? Adora is single, right?”

“Not for long. It’s Adora. I basically just need to find a chick with working eyes that’s into girls. Shouldn’t be too hard in this day and age.” 

“But why can’t Glimmer date Adora?”

“Because I can’t stand her, duh.”

“And that is… because?”

_I always manage to forget how slow she can be with these things_ , Catra thought. She rolled her eyes and settled herself more comfortably on the edge of the windowsill. The novelty of having her own room, and therefore a window she could leave open without Adora fussing at her, would likely never wear off. She liked having the swell of open air moving through her space, so she could feel it sifting through her fur. She adjusted her phone so it was pressed between her ear and her shoulder so she could pick the dirt out from between her toes. “Scorpia, keep up. When Adora and I first moved in, Sparkles was a total twat to us. Why would I want my best friend to date a twat? My best friend who is very inexperienced and was voted, by me, to be most likely to let people walk all over her?”

“Oh! You’re worried that Glimmer wasn’t just grumpy because it was early, like she said, but because she’s just _genuinely_ grumpy and you think she’ll be mean to Adora.” 

_That’s the PG version, but yes, basically. Good job, Scorpia._ “Right. I want someone that’s actually nice, and not just nice because Mommy told her to be. Someone like that is only going to be into Adora for her biceps.”

“Got it! Makes perfect sense. You’re just looking out for her. You’re such a good friend.” The affirmation of her girlfriend's high opinion of her started a pleasant rumble in her chest, and Catra grinned. “So! Enough about Adora…" Scorpia began. "When do I get to visit?”

“You know you’re welcome whenever… tonight’s probably no good though since it’s so late. Adora’s probably done cooking by now anyway, she’ll fuss if I’m on the phone for much longer.”

“So I can come tomorrow?” 

Heat rose in Catra’s cheeks and she smiled. Scorpia was just always so eager, so excited about things. She was spontaneous, and positive, and she was forgiving. She was everything that Catra needed in a partner. It had taken Catra a while, and some tough introspection, to see that. 

There was a knock at the door. Adora knew she was always welcome in Catra’s space, but it was still comforting that she always insisted on asking for permission before entering. They were both particular about things like that. For most of their early lives, privacy had not been a thing. Space to be respected was not a concept their caretaker had believed in. 

“Come in, nerd.”

Adora poked her head in. “Food’s ready! Tell Scorpia I say ‘hi.’ And wash your hands before you come to the table.” Then she was gone.

Catra stepped down from the windowsill. Her stomach was growling at the thought of grilled fish. “Adora says hi, babe. I gotta go.”

“Hi Adora! So I can come by tomorrow?”

“Sure. We’ll be home by 4. See you then.”

Dinner was a rowdy, loud affair as they argued (with full mouths because they were both animals) about what should be done with the furniture. Catra laughed when Adora pulled out three different, meticulously drawn floor plans, always eager to poke fun at her friend’s tendency to over-prepare. That prompted Adora to flick bits of asparagus at Catra, in retaliation, which only lead to Catra catching a piece in her mouth. Adora promptly fell apart into laughter and Catra soon followed. They felt alive, excited, eager to exist in this new space which was theirs. Ten years ago, neither girl could have imagined even making it to this point. 

“What do you want to tackle first, blondie?” Catra asked. Adora was rinsing the dishes in the sink; they would have to unload the rest of the dishwasher before putting a new load in. 

“Unpacking the rest of the kitchen makes the most sense,” Adora replied. “Neither one of us is picky about sitting on the floor, and between your laptop and my books I don’t think we need to rush to get the TV and the PS4 set up.”

“Are you sure you can be away from Aloy that long?” Catra teased. 

Adora’s cheeks went pink, and she stuttered when she shot back a subdued, “S-shut up.” Catra only chuckled. Truth be told, Catra enjoyed watching Adora play games like Horizon Zero Dawn, with their gorgeous graphics and redheaded dreamboat of a protagonist, almost as much as Adora enjoyed playing them. Catra’s wicked temper had been responsible for the death of too many controllers in the past for her to have a real passion for video games herself, so watching was usually her only option. It was something she had in common with Scorpia, who relied on voice assistants for most of her technical needs. 

“You can unpack your room first, if you want. Unwrapping all the cups and silverware is going to be repetitive, which you hate.”

Catra knew Adora was right, so she didn’t bother protesting. “I don’t feel like unpacking yet. You and I both know I’m just going to live out of my duffel bag until we need to do laundry. How’s this: I’ll get my laptop and start making a list of stuff we need. Hammock is going to be first on said list!” 

Adora could only roll her eyes as Catra darted away to her room and back, with her hand-me-down Surface Go in hand (Razz had bought the damn thing and immediately hated it, so Catra ended up with it). She grabbed a handful of the red beanbag that had been thrown in the corner with the rest of the less-fragile furniture. The beanbag had seen years of kneading, napping, and throwing. It was Catra’s favorite thing to sit on, and she still wasn’t sure what room of the house she wanted to keep it in. Should it stay in her room, in the living room, Adora’s room? The possibilities were endless. With a graceful collapse, Catra fell into the bag with an exaggerated huff. She booted the Surface Go up, and after a series of taps was scrolling through an online repository of hammocks. 

“Are you really working on a list, or are you just looking at hammocks?” Adora asked after some time had passed in companionable silence. She sat at the dining room table, casually adding to an ever growing pile of old newspapers as she unwrapped mug after mismatched mug. 

Catra stuck her tongue out and minimized the shopping window so she could open up the notepad app. In defiance, she made sure to write ‘HAMMOCK’ in bolded letters beside the first bullet point. “What else do we need?” 

“More washcloths. They’re good for everything and we were only able to snag a few from Razz. Matches, for the candles. A refill on the swiffy pads for cleaning the floors… oh and vinegar.”

“Yuck!” Catra cried out in protest, her tongue jutting out in a display of disgust. “Why do we need that? That shit smells nasty!”

“It’s for cleaning, Catra. I promise to use it only when you’re out of the apartment.”

Catra grumbled but added it to the list anyway. Under it, she put: Alternative to Vinegar That Doesn’t Smell Like Sour Ass.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Instinctively, both girl’s spines locked up, and their shoulders tensed. They shot each other a quick glance, both holding their breath. For one instant, they were both six again. But then the moment passed, and Adora recovered first. She put down the mug in her hand and crossed the room, going first to Catra’s side and kneeling down beside her. “It’s probably our neighbors trying to ‘bond’ with us... or something. Want me to tell them to buzz off?” 

A tiny growl came from Catra’s chest, and when she stood up her tail was thrashing. “I’m fine. Let’s go see what they want.”

Adora held out her hand, and Catra took it without hesitation. They went to the door that led out onto the deck, footsteps in sync. Adora subconsciously put herself between Catra and the door, an old habit, and took an extra moment to pull back the peach-colored curtain that covered the window. When she saw who was at the door, her eyebrows shot up. 

“That is a lot of hair.”

Interest piqued, Catra pressed forward. “Who is it?”

“It’s Bow and Glimmer, but there’s a third person with them. Here, let me...” Adora trailed off and finally opened the door. (This was good, because two of the people behind it had begun to grow nervous that she wouldn’t.) When Catra saw what was awaiting them, she came to the same conclusion that Adora did.

“Nice hair.”

The newcomer, and owner of what had to have been _pounds_ of gorgeous purple hair, waved in welcome with great enthusiasm. “Thanks! I grew it myself.” Her voice was loud, but Catra got the sense that that was perhaps unintentional. The newcomer’s eyes, a fascinating garnet color, sparkled with intrigue as they took in Catra’s appearance. They bounced around from the ears, the tail, the eyes, the tabby stripes on her arms… and then to both Catra and Adora’s surprise the girl’s hair _came alive_ and lifted its owner off the ground for a closer look. “Oh my… Bow told me his new neighbor was a magicat but I suppose I didn’t quite believe it until now. Can I get some samples of your fur?”

Eyes wide, Catra took a step back. Adora immediately moved further in front of her, eyes narrowed with protective indignation. “Whoever you are, back up before I- hey!” 

The newcomer’s gaze had shifted to Adora, and then the hair was moving again. A smaller tendril separated itself from the right tail it was tied into. That tendril moved up to poke at Adora’s bicep, then wrap around Adora’s wrist to pull the arm outward so it was fully extended. Adora tried to pull away, fear and confusion clear on her face, but she was unsuccessful.

“Your form is impressive as well! I’ve been meaning to conduct a study on muscle growth. Would you be willing to commit to a very specific liquid diet for two to three weeks?” 

“No! Well, wait- maybe? Will you let go of me if I say yes?”

Catra stepped forward with a hiss, grabbing a hold of the same arm that was snared by the hair-with-a-life-of-its-own. “Let her go, you psycho! Who even let you and your weird hair up here? Is this a friend of yours, Rainbow?” 

Bow was in fact laughing, while Glimmer looked respectfully uncomfortable and apologetic. “Entrapta, we’ve talked about this. You have to introduce yourself to people before you ask them for help with your experiments,” Glimmer chided before dropping her head into her waiting hand with a sigh. 

Entrapta, since that was apparently her name, immediately released Adora and dropped back down onto her own two feet. Her hair seemed to settle as well. Now that she was on the ground, Adora and Catra realized how short she was. “Right! Sorry about that. There are so many rules in social etiquette, it’s hard to keep track. I tried to make a list, but it got very long very fast. I’m Entrapta!” With a dazzling (if slightly manic) smile, Entrapta gestured to Bow. More specifically, to the plate of impeccable tiny cupcakes Bow was holding. “I helped Bow make you tiny cupcakes to aid in his apology! I know they’re for you, but can I have one?”

“Babe, there’s an entire tray for you back at our place,” Bow cut in. He stepped forward to press a quick kiss to Entrapta’s temple. 

“I know! But you picked out all of the best ones for this plate.”

“Are you suggesting that I don’t decorate all of my tiny cupcakes with equal care?” Bow teased. But the question must have been rhetorical, because he turned back to Catra and Adora to hold the plate out in front of him. “A peace offering, m’ladies.”

“You can take your peace offering and shove it up your-”

“What Catra is trying to say is-”

“I’m not _trying_ , I’m saying- hey!”

“Excuse us for a moment.” Adora had long since learned that the best way to stop an argument with Catra involved (dare she say, instigating) was to physically remove her from the argument space before it fully manifested. So, she was the only one unsurprised when she wrapped both arms around Catra’s slim waist and lifted the magicat clear off the ground to drag her away and into the kitchen. “Um, there’s nowhere to sit yet really but you can come in,” she shouted back to their guests, over the sound of Catra's hissing and spitting.

Catra was growling when Adora finally deposited her back on the ground. Adora had moved them into the hallway, out of earshot of their new neighbors (and friend) if they were quiet enough. 

“What the hell, Adora?” Catra hissed. “So we’re just gonna let them in after they bring us cupcakes?”

“Do you really want to stay mad at them forever, Catra? We live here now, what good would it do us to be openly nasty, even after they’ve apologized? We don’t have to like them, but it wouldn’t kill us to be friendly.”

“Speak for yourself! Every time I get an eyeful of that cotton candy hair I wanna hurl.” Catra spat.

Adora pulled out one of her old standby tactics for these sorts of situations: humor. Get Catra’s sarcastic bone in the game and her foul mood would start to taper out. “What, you jealous you couldn’t pull it off?” she baited with a smirk and a perked brow.

And of course Catra saw right through it, but she was still a sucker for Adora so she played along. After an eye roll and a snort, of course. “As if. Look, if you want to let them keep making their lame apology, be my guest. But don’t force me to sit in on it, alright? You know how much I hate people.”

“Except for me, of course.”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure you’re on my list too.”

“I’ll remember that next time you ask me for a favor.” Adora gave Catra a playful shove, which Catra returned with a sharp bark of laughter. 

When they returned to the kitchen they were surprised to see Bow and Glimmer seated at the table, having taken up Adora’s abandoned task of unwrapping all of the drinkware. Entrapta was digging through the box of DVD’s they owned, seated cross legged on the floor beside the plate of tiny cupcakes. Adora and Catra watched as one stray tendril of hair crept towards the plate, only to be gently smacked away by Glimmer. Catra couldn’t help a contained groan as she slipped by to grab her laptop and then retreat to her room. “Well, goodie-goodies, this has been fun but I’m gonna have to take a rain check.”

“Wait!” Bow cried, looking up sharply from the ‘World’s Dumbest Jock’ mug he was unwrapping. Catra caught sight of the mug and grinned. She’d ordered that for Adora special a few years back. At first it had been a gag gift, but Adora used it almost every day. “Aren’t you going to have a cupcake? You’re gonna break my heart if you don’t.”

“Ooh, that’d be fun to get on video,” Catra shot back. “How do I know you’re not trying to poison us?”

Glimmer, whose eyes had been narrowed at Catra for this entire exchange, answered with a question of her own. “Why would we try to poison you? You think if we wanted you gone we wouldn’t find a less conspicuous way to do it?” 

“I dunno, I’m not sure I should give you two that much credit.”

“Oh, bite me, Catra.”

“No thanks!” 

Bow jumped in again, this time standing up and joining Entrapta on the floor. “Look, we’ll prove they’re not poison. Entrapta, you have my permission to steal one of our neighbor’s apology cakes to demonstrate how delicious and not-poisoned they are.”

Entrapta released a shriek of delight and immediately snagged one of the cakes, small and pink and decorated with an icing heart, with a tendril of her hair. She delicately plucked the wrapper off with her gloved hands, then tossed the whole thing into her mouth. She chomped down with a happy purr and it wasn’t long before she was asking for more. “Your neighbors still don’t seem to like you very much. Can we go back to your place so I can eat my share of the food? Then I’ll need your help getting all of the projects I brought with me set up in the workshop.”

“Sure, sweet tooth, just one second,” Bow replied before standing up, plate in hand. He seemed unbothered by the implication that Adora and Catra were still mad, and brought the plate to Catra with a smile on his face. “See? Not poisoned.” 

Catra gave him her best glare, nostril flare included, but the boy must have been inhuman because he didn’t even flinch. Was she losing her touch already? Had living next to the little prince and princess already started to sand away her edges? She glanced down at the plate. Finally, with a growl, she snatched the cupcake closest to her and stalked off with a harsh _whatever_ muttered under her breath. It wasn’t long before they heard a door slam, and then the sound of something punk turned up high to ward away the sounds of company Catra did not want. 

Adora, watching from her place leaning up against the kitchen counter, smiled. _So dramatic._ When Bow brought the plate to her next, she took one without fussing. “So…” she began as she unwrapped the first cupcake. “Has your hair always had a mind of it’s own, Entrapta?”

“Oh no, it’s still my mind. It has a closer connection to my nervous system than your average sample of human hair, plus a little added aid from the magic in the planet’s atmosphere. It’s a Dryl family trait, and it is a huge help in the lab, believe me!”

_Magic. That makes sense. As much sense as magic can make, I guess._

Adora hummed to acknowledge that she’d heard, but she was at that moment confused by the tiny pastry she had in her hands. Hand, really. It was smaller than her palm. “Uh… so, do I eat this in one bite, or…?”

Glimmer hid a smile behind her hand and turned away to mask the subtle shake of her shoulders that the giggles caused when she’d caught sight of Adora’s concerned expression. She’d looked like a muscular labrador doing the egg challenge, only instead of gingerly taking an egg in her fanged jaws she was cradling a tiny pastry in her clumsy paws. 

“You can eat it however you want, Adora.” Thank goodness for Bow and his everlasting patience. “Sweet tooth over there usually eats them in one, if that helps.”

“Right, I wanted to ask about that too. Why do you call her that?” Adora asked. 

“It’s a pet name! Entrapta and I have been dating for a while, and she’s always been big on sweets. It’s just something I came up with.”

“I don’t have any for Bow!” Entrapta chimed in. Her hair pulled her to her feet, a tiny stack of DVDs in her hands, and carried her over to Bow’s side. One tail slipped over his shoulder, resting comfortably, and she jumped up to peck him on the cheek. “I just call him Bow. Can I borrow these? I promise to bring them back.”

“Uh, sure. Just let me make sure you didn’t grab any of Catra’s…” Adora had never been big on movies, but Madame Razz had collected old re-masters of the classics she’d grown up with and then gifted to her girls when they’d introduced her to streaming services. Entrapta had grabbed a few of the black and white romances Razz loved, which meant she was safe from Catra’s wrath. 

Glimmer, throughout all of this, had been fighting to ignore the heat of the blush she knew she was sporting on her cheeks and ears. Adora could cook, she was still wearing an apron for crying out loud, and she was wearing a tank top underneath it. That had to be illegal. Those arms had to be illegal. She had a mug with ‘World’s Dumbest Jock,’ written on it. She was unfairly adorable, and watching her interact with Entrapta was reassuring. It was always a good sign when your existing social circle could interact with someone you wanted to add to your circle with no issue. 

“Adora,” she said without being fully able to hide her shyness, “You’re still holding your cupcake.”

Adora’s bay blues blinked owlishly before she looked down at her hands. The little cupcake was still there. “Oops. I just, it’s so small…”

“Here, let me help!” Entrapta announced stepping forward to pluck the tiny treat from Adora’s grasp. “I saw this in a TV show once: here comes the train! Open up!” 

Glimmer and Bow both watched in minute horror as Entrapta shoved the cupcake into Adora’s mouth. For a moment, an instant of held breath and wide eyes, nothing happened. Glimmer was terrified that they would once again be shut out of their neighbor's lives. But then Adora’s jaw began to work, and her eyes sparkled. A thrilled hum escaped her, and she swallowed. “That. Was. Amazing.”

“I know! Here, have more. Your magicat probably shouldn’t eat too much sugar anyway, I’ve read that it’s not good for their digestion.” 

Entrapta and Adora set about devouring the rest of the cupcakes as Bow and Glimmer breathed a simultaneous sigh of release. That had been too close. 

Despite the general success of their intended mission, (to make their apology solid with the gift of tiny cakes and finally get their new neighbors to acknowledge their existence as people) the Brightmoon trio didn’t get to stay long. Adora, refreshingly blunt in her manner of speech, explained that she had a list of things she wanted to get done before she went to bed. She also didn’t want Catra to feel like she had to stay hidden in her room for the rest of the evening. So, with as much grace as Bow and Glimmer could muster, they left with Entrapta in tow not long after the cupcakes had been finished. 

Glimmer turned down an invitation to hang out at the Dryl house while Bow helped Entrapta unload her van, and settled down on the living room couch with a blanket and some hot chocolate to binge watch an old season of Face Off. It was one of her go-to cures for artist’s block; she liked to doodle her own designs based on the challenges given to the contestants on the show. 

She’d only made it to the second episode when a thump from the deck broke her concentration. She had to put her mug in the sink anyway, so she rose to go see what it was. She took a tentative peek out of the kitchen window and was surprised to see what could have only been Catra’s striking silhouette, highlighted against the backdrop of the rapidly falling night. The magicat was balancing on the deck railing, walking- scratch that, _gliding_ across the beam with strides so effortless a gymnast would have been jealous. And even in the low light, Glimmer could see that Catra was smiling. 

It was a soft expression, not one that she thought Catra would have wanted Glimmer to see. It felt private, that smile. So when Catra flipped off the rail and bounded across the deck, out of sight, Glimmer did not try to follow her with her eyes. Catra was a mystery. An annoying mystery, and definitely something of an obstacle in the pursuit of Adora’s affections, but maybe Glimmer could cut her some slack. She could do that, couldn’t she? As she headed back to her blanket bundle on the couch, Glimmer resolved to be a little bit more like Bow. A little bit kinder, a little bit more patient. That didn’t mean that the sound of clawed footsteps padding their way across the roof of their building didn’t make her jump with surprise when she heard it, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want Adora's mug.

**Author's Note:**

> Back in the saddle again, this time with a cheesy 80's reboot. Let me know what you think.


End file.
